TWO Rottweiler dogs which ran amok, attacking neighbours and other dogs could be destroyed.

Emergency dog handlers rushed to Bottom o'th' Moor in Horwich when dogs Radar and Shakira escaped from their owner's home and went on a 60-minute attacking spree.

Owner Sharman Gibson pleaded guilty yesterday at Bolton Magisrates Court to five charges of failing to control the dogs in a public place.

The hearing was adjourned for a report which will determine if 44-year-old Gibson can continue to keep the Rottweilers or whether they should be put down.

The attacks happened on January 12 when the growling dogs escaped from the owner's home at around 9am.

Audrey Tippings, one of the victims was left with severe bruising and puncture wounds to her arm when the larger Rottweiler lunged towards her and bit her forearm through a thick quilted coat.

Later, postman Rodney Gillespie was delivering mail when one dog jumped up and held his arm in its mouth.

Mr Gillespie only managed to free himself by hitting the dog with grey tubing that he spotted in a skip. He was taken to hospital with five puncture wounds.

Ten minutes later, Lilian Leatham watched in horror as the two vicious animals began to savage her Springer Spaniel Sally which was left lying on the ground wimpering, with neck and back injuries and was taken to a veterinary surgery for emergency treatment.

Sheila Boocock, was also attacked in her garden as she tried to defend her small poodle Shandy.

She said: "If I'd have been upstairs, I believe those dogs would have killed Shandy.

"When I arrived they were tossing him up into the air like a rag doll. It was a miracle he survived."

Patrick Newell, defending Gibson, said that the incident was a "one-off."

He said: "The owner was in bed during the attacks and was unaware the dogs had escaped."

He added that Gibson had previously worked for Guide Dogs for the Blind and worked in Portugal with the national dressage team.

Jenny Taylor, dog control officer at Bolton Council, welcomed the conviction, saying: "The injuries sustained by one dog was among the worst I've ever seen.

"These dogs have gone on to people's land and attacked them in unprovoked incidents. Hopefully this will send out a strong message to dog owners that they need to remain responsible at all times."

After the hearing, postman Mr Gillespie said: "I'm frightened to death on my job now. I don't deliver in Horwich anymore. If it had been a child, they wouldn't have stood a chance."

and says he continually suffers from flashbacks during his rounds.

a history of looking after animals and

"We will continue to take firm action against owners who don't take proper care of animals."

Neighbours, pets and postman set upon by two Rottweilers